All units of the Barapukuria Coal-Fired Power Plant have gone offline after the last operational unit developed a fault, further intensifying the country’s ongoing electricity crisis.
According to Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Director (Public Relations) Md. Shamim Hasan, power generation from the final running unit was halted due to a pipe burst caused by stone particles mixed with coal.
Efforts are currently underway to repair the damaged unit, but officials could not specify when it will resume operation. Meanwhile, the plant’s third unit, which has been under maintenance, is expected to return to production next month.
With the plant fully shut down, officials fear that voltage regulation in surrounding regions will become increasingly difficult.
The Barapukuria power plant has three units with a total installed capacity of 525 megawatts. The first and second units each have a capacity of 125 MW, while the third unit has a capacity of 275 MW. However, the second unit has remained shut since 2020 due to a dispute with the contractor, and the third unit has been out of operation since November last year due to mechanical issues.
Due to multiple constraints, electricity generation has been falling short of demand. According to grid data, on April 22, power demand stood at around 378 million units, while supply was limited to about 325 million units.
The Power Division has already indicated that load shedding is likely to increase further.
Officials said the crisis has been exacerbated by gas shortages. Although gas-based power plants have a generation capacity of around 12,000 MW, only about 5,500 MW could be produced recently due to limited gas supply.
In addition, one unit of the Adani power plant and another unit at the Banshkhali power plant are currently out of operation. These are expected to resume generation on April 26 and April 28 respectively, which could add around 1,200 MW to the grid.
However, the complete shutdown of Barapukuria at this critical time is expected to put additional pressure on the already strained power supply system.
